Of Wolves, Orochi, and Spaceships
by RinoaDestiny
Summary: Kyo and Iori play Okami. Controllers get thrown, insults are exchanged, the game somehow gets played, and miraculously, the place doesn't burn down.


**Of Wolves, Orochi, and Spaceships**

 _Written by: RinoaDestiny_

 _King of Fighters, Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami belong to SNK_

 _Okami belongs to Capcom/late Clover Studios_

 **Comments** :This one's for you, Nano, since we both love the bantering between the pyro boys. =)

As for Okami, it's a terrific game with an excellent soundtrack to boot. If Japanese mythology and the ability to play in the legends are of interest, this game is highly recommended. I've been listening to the soundtrack non-stop while writing KoF stories (funny how well it allows me to think), so this had to happen. **Spoilers for Okami, of course. I tried not to mention some key scenes later on and didn't even bring up the entire game, but had to mention the pertinent parts that the boys would likely take interest in.**

* * *

Kyo never struck Iori as a gamer, so imagine his surprise when he found out his rival procured one and was going to play it. His surprise doubled when Kyo asked if he wanted to join him, if he wished to. Curious, Iori decided to play along, since Kyo gave him no reason to refuse. Besides, it was weird and Iori wanted to know what his rival did other than fighting and slacking off on everything else. Certain video games took effort, and Kyo shunned effort, so far as he knew.

He stopped by his rival's place – a side room away from the main house (smart) – exactly on time and invited himself in. It gave him a chance to survey the setup and see what he was getting himself into. There was a decent-looking Playstation 2 (either rented or borrowed), one controller (so not a two-player game), speakers for surround sound, and the game itself in its plastic case sitting on the table off to the side. Iori picked it up and one look at the box art and the two bold calligraphic characters told him what to expect.

Anyone past a certain age and a certain level of schooling knew that the title played a pun on the character for wolf and also the great goddess, Amaterasu Omikami of Shinto lore. He looked at the back of the case and wondered if he should sigh or snort. Of course Kusanagi was interested – they'd be playing the sun goddess herself. Orochi was involved. That was to be expected from what he knew of their country's mythology. But the sun goddess?

Might as well see if Kyo would be flashing his sun emblems again.

For that matter, where the hell was his rival?

Something was missing in the room between the console, the game, the controller, and the simple trappings of the place with its wooden table, _shoji_ screens, and calligraphic scroll on the wall. The character on the scroll read "Tranquility". How tranquil the place would be once they got started was another matter.

He suddenly noticed what was missing. Where the hell was the television? How were they to play without one?

As if on cue, the _shoji_ screen opened at the moment, Kyo coming in with a widescreen television and cables looped around his shoulder. Just the sight made Iori twitch. The cables needed a goddamn box, not to be dangling like that!

Kyo saw him and grinned in acknowledgment. "Oi. Didn't expect you to be here on time."

"I'm not Miyamoto Musashi. You invited. I came."

Kyo chuckled, already in the process of setting up the television and plugging in the cables. "Good thing I'm not Sasaki Kojiro. Don't need to worry about getting my head bashed in by an oar."

"So you did pay attention in school after all."

"Shut it, Yagami. I'm being nice."

"I see. So why this game," Iori pointed at the game case, "and why invite me? We ain't friends, Kyo."

"We're not exactly enemies, either. Thought you'd like the game. Another take on our common enemy."

"While playing the sun goddess."

"You salty, Yagami?"

"No. It suits you. Of course you'd play someone representing the sun."

"Ha. Well, it's all set up. How should we do this?"

Iori sat down next to the table and picked up the controller. He crossed his legs, realizing he was in for the long haul and it was a good thing he wore his comfortable jeans. "You've never done this before, have you?"

"No."

"Expect a long-ass game. Looks like several battles and some of them are big ones. A lot of exploration. A _lot_ of storytelling."

"You got all this from the box?"

"It's our mythology, Kyo. It's never abbreviated."

"How long you talking?"

"Forty to fifty hours, perhaps. Maybe longer. You ready for that?"

"Ah…if I get tired, you get the controller. That's once you're done playing and give it to me. I'll take a nap. You play 'til you drop."

"So little effort."

"Shut up."

Kyo pressed the start button on the Playstation 2 and the game fired up. Iori had to admit there was a certain charm to the graphics. It reminded him of classically painted Japanese silk scrolls with its bold ink brushstrokes and soft watercolors. Even the nonsense mumbling of the narrator fit; although, too much of it and he was going to throw the controller at the television, if not the wall. Put a hole right through it.

Par the course, the legend of Orochi was told – eight-headed serpent – and the monster was taken on by a guy named Nagi and a shining white wolf named Shiranui. He wondered where Susanoo was. Iori got his answer not too long after as the cutscene continued.

He scowled. "Susanoo, you sonovabitch! Put the goddamn sword back!"

Kyo, sitting a little further away on the other side of the table, laughed. "What an asshole."

"He better fix it, little bastard."

The cutscene finally ended and control of the wolf Amaterasu – of course – ended up in his hands. There was also an irritating little nuisance bouncing around named Issun. The little green bug played both commentator and backseat driver to Amaterasu and had the most annoying gibberish voice ever. If it wasn't for the fact that Iori was already invested and giving the game a chance, the controller would've been through the television screen.

"Stupid little…shut the fuck up!"

"He's with us for the whole game, I think."

"Goddamn."

The place they started off in was bleak and full of cliffs. By ramming into the multiple clay jars, Iori was able to get some fruits and basic items for the wolf. Eventually, after exploring a while, he ran upward and faced some stars. It was rather obvious what the game wanted him to do.

He pulled up the scroll again – had already done it for a bridge – and dotted in the missing stars. A constellation and a dragon named Yomigami appeared. There was a long bit of dialogue and his reward was to rejuvenate things. Exciting. He hoped to get better skills – offensive skills – because the game would suck ass if all he did was make things whole again.

He looked at Kyo. Saw his eyes glazing over.

"Hey!" That woke him up. "Already? Goddamn, history and lit class must've bored you."

"All except the poetry. Well, the interesting poetry."

"Modern stuff, you mean," Iori said, now crossing a gleaming river with his rejuvenation skill. Control of the wolf wasn't hard and he wondered how complex the brush skills were going to become. He liked a challenge.

"All of that old stuff is boring. Who cares how many verses and all that shit –"

"That's the best part."

"You're odd, Yagami." He turned to look at Kyo, who stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "You're into that boring ancient stuff?"

"You're bored because you can't read it."

"Hey!"

"You never graduated high school. You probably fell asleep in every class. If I threw the Heike tale at you, it'll be a lost cause."

"Where'd you get off telling me –"

"Kyo, everyone knows. Look at the last tournament."

"Damn." Iori knew Kyo hated that little tidbit from his life pointed out, but was his rival sulking? It would've been funny if it wasn't downright pathetic. "So where the hell are you now?"

Ignoring Kyo's too transparent tactic of diversion, Iori focused back on the game. He'd smashed a few more jars, gotten a lot more items (yawn), and was now looking at a second constellation. Well, that was good news. Perhaps this one would be better than restoring broken bridges and crossing rivers.

"Is that a mouse?"

"Tachigami. Looks like it. Hell of a sword."

"It's still talking."

"Keep up, Kyo. Told you there's a lot of storytelling."

"Uh…"

Tachigami finished its conversation with Amaterasu (what was the next constellation gonna be?) and dropped the skill. Iori grinned, clutching the controller with glee. A power slash. That was offensive. He could destroy things with it. Perhaps even use it for battle, whenever that was.

"Geez, Yagami. It's a slash. You look like you wanna wreck shit."

"Oh, so you want to play? Here. You can try."

"Pass. You play. I'll watch. So much reading, ugh."

Iori sighed. With Kyo complaining like this, this was going to be a long game. Were they doing this in one sitting or were they taking breaks? At forty to fifty hours tops (he didn't know what else the game offered), food and sleep were necessities. If Kyo never played, he faced the very real possibility of the controller being glued to his hands.

That wasn't going to happen.

"Tell you what," he said, moving onto the next part, "the minute you _get_ interested, I'm handing you the controller, okay? I'm not playing this by myself. _You_ invited me."

"Maybe once the fighting starts."

"You want to wreck shit, too. Good to know."

"They'll talk less."

"Kyo…"

Of course, as luck would have it, the minute he got to the next area, Iori faced his first battle. Wards flashed up – he could make out some of the characters in the evil haze – and his enemies were two simple-looking demons. Being his first fight, though, he let the game walk him through the basics. Knock back, turn grey, and brush skill to kill. That wasn't difficult. He chortled when he saw that the offensive weapon on Amaterasu's back was a mirror. One of the sacred treasures. Well, damn. Did that mean he was going to get the _magatama_ and the sword as well?

"Hey, Kyo. You see this?"

"It's the first interesting thing so far. You took them down fast."

"Kagura would like this."

"Not the same. You're using the mirror to strike them, not seal, reflect, or make clones."

"Hah! Kagura using her mirror in the next tournament like this? Would like to see that!"

"Great. Maybe she can smash your head in first."

"Ha. You still not interested?"

"Alright, alright. Hand me the controller, Yagami." At that, his rival held out his hand. Iori passed the controller to him and sat back to watch. "Do I still have to go through all the boring ass dialogue?"

"If you don't, I'll kill you."

"That's getting old as hell, Yagami. Find another line."

Iori bared his teeth at him.

Kyo wasn't a bad player for his first time running around a fictional world (there was a convenient map available) but the amount of times Iori had to redirect him drove him bonkers. Kusanagi could fight with all the coordination of a pro in the arena but couldn't tell his own ass from his nose inside a game. This was probably the most effort the other man put into anything and if Iori had to force him to get better, he would.

They entered a quaint little village where all the people were stone statues. The sky was dark as spilled ink and the damn little green bug went spastic and started talking. As if the game thought the player was an idiot – then again, it was Kyo playing – it emphasized the dark expanse of sky again. Because the universe knew best, Kyo drew the sun into the sky, turning all into day. Iori had never seen such a pleased look on his rival's face.

"Uh, that's a drawn sun, Kyo. You ain't Amaterasu yourself."

"You just want a moon, Yagami. Maybe the game hates you."

"You're twenty-two, Kyo. Stop acting like a brat."

"Coming from you? That's rich, Yagami." Amaterasu ran around like an idiot since Kyo wasn't paying attention. It made Iori's eye twitch. "Didn't you just threaten to kill me?"

"I will if you don't stop running around like a moron. Give me the controller if you're not playing."

"But I am."

"Then go back to the village, idiot!" Iori snatched at the controller, which Kyo held out of reach. "Continue the goddamn plot. Save when you see the mirror next time."

"Why save? Nothing's gonna kill us."

"I swear, Kyo. If we get far enough and the game kills you, I'm toasting your Playstation."

"Seems easy so far."

"Your last words. Get. Into. The. Village. Now."

He must've looked murderous, because Kyo took one look at him and guided Amaterasu back into the village. That triggered a cutscene and a huge fight – three against one – and Iori hoped Kyo knew how to fight as a wolf armed with a mirror. He also hoped Kyo had been observing his earlier fight, because if he needed to grab the controller from his rival to prevent an early defeat, he would. The table might break, but goddammit, he wasn't starting all over again.

Especially not with Kyo whining about all the reading.

Fortunately, Kyo picked up on the basics rather quickly – there was much use of the power slash – and the demons died and the plot moved on. The villagers were back to normal, bustling about and quite talkative and Iori saw Kyo jumping from villager to villager. This drove him nuts. He wanted to see what was going on and rushing through all the side dialogue meant they missed a lot.

"Slow the fuck down, Kyo."

"But it's so much talking. Do they even matter?"

"They might but I won't know if you don't stop running around. Do something! Dig the old lady's vegetables! Talk to the kid! Go to that big house – that looks important."

"Why?"

"It's a big fucking house, Kyo. That tends to be important. Know what…"

Iori snatched the controller from the other man's hands, swinging the cord over to his side of the table.

"Hey!"

"You're not playing. You're complaining. Shut up and watch."

He was right. It was important. The big house also belonged to Susanoo, who was being a lazy-ass bum dreaming about his lady Kushinada. Ha. "Hey, Kyo. You've got company."

"Very funny. Isn't that the asshole who released Orochi?"

"One and the same."

"What are you doing, Yagami?"

"Waking the little bastard up. Hey, dipshit!" It gave Iori great glee to ram Susanoo awake. The guy jumped to his feet and immediately began asking questions and puffing himself up. Even the little green bug Issun got annoyed. Iori moved on with the dialogue, not missing the fact that this version of Susanoo was different from what he knew from the legends. How would this slacker get Kushinada? He was pathetic.

"He's so annoying."

"Reminds me of someone."

"Can it, Yagami." Kyo glared at him. "You're not letting that go, are you?"

"No."

"Screw you."

"Oh, that stings, Kyo. Come up with better insults next time." Amaterasu ran around, met Kushinada (Iori never thought she'd be the one making the _sake_ ), and then that bitch-ass Susanoo was also a drunk. "How the hell does this guy get the Kusanagi sword?"

"Luck."

Iori snorted. "Luck my ass. Hey, asshole! Get the rock outta my way!"

"Looks like you have to help him."

"No shit."

However, once they got clear of the village and the highly inebriated Susanoo (not a god in this game), Iori felt his spirits lift. The plains were cursed, yes, but very beautifully drawn and colored. Here and there floated demonic curse papers with that same evil aura (more battles) and the dark miasma of wicked spiritual energy covered the place. As far as he could tell, the map had just opened for them and now he could explore.

Explore and fight.

Was there a mirror around here? He wanted to save, just in case he got stomped. He didn't want Kyo pointing a finger at him, laughing his ass off. If that happened, the controller was breaking Kyo's nose, as far as Iori was concerned.

Seeing no mirror, he ran forward but away from the evil papers. Of course, with his shitty luck, one of the papers doubled back onto him and the fight was on. Iori gripped the controller, pressing the buttons quickly, whacking the demons silly. They were easy kills; yet, he hated surprises like that. He called the shots; he made the choices. No different in a game about the sun goddess being a wolf and Orochi prowling, still making life difficult for Kushinada compared to his life. He hated it when others encroached, made their demands.

Hated it.

Then, as though the game didn't despise him enough, one inaccurate flying leap threw him straight into the cursed miasma. His eyes widened.

"Shit!"

Amaterasu was completely white, stripped of her power and markings. His ink supply dwindled at a rapid, almost frantic pace. The music was creepy as fuck and he wanted out of this cursed fucking zone right now. Hell, where was he to run?

"Get outta there, Yagami!"

Well, at least Kyo wasn't nodding off anymore.

He made a mad dash in the opposite direction, cursing under his breath. Suddenly, he was out, back in the ordinary plains with the curse papers floating around. Iori breathed a sigh of relief, astonished at how fast his heart was beating. Shit, that was scary. Did the game have other surprises like this hidden under its pretty surface?

"That was some horror level stuff."

"Damn."

"Didn't take you as easily scared, Yagami."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Kyo smirked. "Have you seen yourself in Riot, Yagami? You'll put Sadako to shame."

Iori snarled. Yanked the Player 1 controller from its port, raised his arm, and flung it straight towards Kyo in one unbroken motion. Who ate it with his face. Good.

* * *

After Kyo finished icing his face, Iori watched with smug satisfaction as his rival glowered at him and re-plugged the controller. The game was still running – the music was rather good – and the fact that he hadn't ripped the damn console from its power source or cables was a miracle. At least it wasn't toast. He still wanted to play the game, dammit. Just not with Kyo's snide remarks spoiling his good mood.

Then again, he could counter snide remark for snide remark. What he couldn't tolerate was Kyo's impatience with the plot. So the guy wanted to get on with the Orochi story. They'd get there. They simply had to read it, see how they adapted it. But of course that was too much for the high school dropout (failure) and that irritated Iori.

"Are you playing this time?" he barked at the other man, whose right eye and cheek were still an impressive shade of bluish-purple. He could see where the controller impacted Kyo's face.

Kyo continued glaring at him.

"Well?"

"One more time of this, Yagami and I'll –"

"You'll what? Kick me out? I know you want to play this game – it's just too damn boring for you, isn't it?"

"I know the Orochi story. Geez. They taught it in school."

"You actually paid attention? Goddamn, Kyo. That's impressive even for you."

"Okay, wiseass. What makes this different, since you know so much?"

It took all of Iori's effort not to throw his hands in the air or to lunge across and strangle Kyo. "Susanoo's a drunk-ass human. He ain't a god. Orochi's here but we have Nagi and Shiranui who were made for this story and aren't in the legend. Kushinada – yes, your precious little girlfriend belongs to that line – isn't the helpless princess here. She makes her own _sake_ and has more balls than Susanoo. Amaterasu isn't even involved in the Orochi legend. That's all Susanoo. There are no other sisters of Kushinada's that were eaten. Enough changes for you to give a damn, Kyo. That's if you're still interested."

"Wow, Yagami. Didn't know you spoke so much."

"You find this boring? It's our goddamn history, Kyo. Your ancestors would be wondering what dumb fuck they got who doesn't give two shits about it."

"And yours?"

"At least I know it." Iori ran his hand through his hair, seeing Kyo with both eyes. "When we're done with this game – yes, you're gonna finish it – I'm sending you an invite to a damn poetry game and you're gonna accept."

"Like hell I will."

"What? Afraid? Your poetry sucks, Kyo? Spare me the sob story."

Kyo didn't need his flames. Iori could feel the intensity of his piercing glare just sitting here. Fortunately, it meant little in the long run and Iori let it slide off him like water.

"Fine." He heard Kyo growl. The controller was in his hand. "Let's finish it."

"And stop complaining."

"Yagami…"

"Shut up, Kyo. Play."

* * *

Now that he had thrown the ball in his rival's court, they cleared the map rather quickly. The cursed plains were exorcised, the guardian tree was in full bloom, this part of the world was restored and beautiful again, and they were able to move on. Amaterasu gained some new brush skills – Iori had grabbed the controller from Kyo when the cat granted the goddess the ability to climb walls – and it proved handy when the Orochi plot unfolded and advanced like the pictures on the scroll.

There was also an interesting boss before that.

"What was that old hag?"

"A geisha spider. Prostitute spider. Some cursed female spirit." Iori shrugged. Kyo's face still bore the marks of his handiwork but the other man ceased to scowl. "They're putting in a lot of the demons from lore."

"The drum demon…"

"Fit well with the music. You almost got killed, though."

"Bastard wouldn't stop banging his drum."

"Not that hard." Then again, Iori took to the game as naturally as he took to sports. He was interested and that made a big difference. The boss fights were fun. He let Kyo play those for a while and then wrested control from him if it looked like Kyo was going to lose. Even with all their continuous saving, Iori wasn't taking chances. "You didn't figure out his weakness?"

"Flipping him was hard."

"Kyo Kusanagi, master of the arena and you can't execute that?"

"Hey, cut me some slack. It's _different_."

"It's not. You get it once, you do it again. Like fighting."

"It's not."

"Go ahead and pout. Give me the controller." His rival handed it to him, sulking. Man, he was pathetic. "Orochi's next and I'm gonna kick his ass. Hate that motherfucker."

"Sure you do."

"You want controller in the face again, Kyo? I'll make your face match."

Kyo scowled, face darkening.

Iori ignored him. Kushinada had brass balls to come along literally for the ride and that was because Susanoo was a drunken bastard. He liked the take on the girl in this game – it was always strange to him how she got turned into a comb for protection. With Susanoo being undependable, it was up to the sun goddess, the still irritable little flea Issun, and the _sake_ girl to confront Orochi. Well, here he was. _Come get me, you bastard_ , he thought.

If it were only this easy in real life.

Orochi made an awesome entrance – Iori couldn't deny that – before the scroll turned and battle was on. Eight heads, eight elements coming full blast at him, and Amaterasu was busy dodging, drawing, and wreaking havoc on the screen. From the corner of his eye, he caught Kyo watching entranced as wind blew away flame, sake was forcibly engorged by Orochi, and the eight-headed serpent was left vulnerable by turns.

Iori struck the damn bell so often to damage the serpent that the creature's life dropped rapidly. He used the _magatama_ beads found earlier. It seemed suitable, somehow, considering himself. _Eat that, you piece of shit._

If he could only throw his jewel at Orochi and watch him die.

Hell, the thought of Kagura bashing someone with her mirror was still funny.

It would save them a lot of pain. They wouldn't have to seal the damn bastard ever again. The god could go both feet up and Iori would move on. Pursue his rivalry with Kyo or make the guy learn some actual poetry.

He was already planning it, actually. He was good at things like that.

But of course, like in real life, Orochi didn't like to stay dead and came back for Round 2. " _Sonova_ …stay fucking down!" Susanoo had joined him – off his drunk ass – and the serpent was a pissed off huge motherfucker. The attack patterns were the same, though and his brushstrokes went flying all over the scroll. Kyo whistled next to him as he delivered the final blow, which made Iori grin. Following the legend, Susanoo stepped up to the plate and finished the foe.

Iori let go of the controller, let it drop next to his feet.

Kyo could play now. That was all he wanted, really.

"Now he's in history. Don't think we're done, though."

"Yeah, it's still going." The other man had leaned over and picked up the controller, settling back down for his turn. "Looks like it's heading that way."

"Keep going, Kyo. Let's see where this takes us."

"It's gonna be dinner time, soon. You staying or leaving?"

"Like hell your family will trust me around. I'll go and come back later."

"We have futons here, you know. Unless you're used to a bed."

"And have you play while I'm sleeping? To hell with that. I'll miss most of the story."

Kyo shrugged. "Have it your way, Yagami."

"At least get us to the next place. For fucks sake, Kyo – save!"

"What…oh. Ran right by it."

"You're a goddamn idiot, Kusanagi. You know that, right?"

* * *

He was right. The game was long. Very very long. There were a lot of vistas to see, a lot of cursed places to heal and revitalize, more abilities to get (there was a dojo), more weapons to obtain (Kyo was smacking foes left and right with the swords), and even more giant boss fights. Kyo was also an idiot in some regards – he was right there, too – but at least he was playing better. Iori didn't have to grab the controller from him that much anymore.

There were also quite a few highlights. When they weren't being merciless with the game, they were ruthless with each other. Kyo had bought _senbei_ crackers for the second day – they had started this time around nine in the morning – and by the late afternoon, Iori had several thrown at him already.

Kusanagi was a brat.

He'd grabbed a handful and thrown them back.

The game went on pause when a full-scale cracker-flinging war ensued. Forget the Heike, Musashi, or Kojiro – Iori was too busy trying to prevent Kyo from ramming rice crackers down the back of his shirt or trying to retaliate to consider history. Crackers crunched beneath his feet and he knew if any of the Kusanagis walked in and saw this, Kyo would laugh it off and grin sheepishly. Iori would be bracing for a fight.

The tranquility scroll seemed to mock him.

Several rice crackers went down his shirt. He turned, feeling them dig into skin and bone.

 _"Kyo!"_

"Heh, I win. Stop scowling, Yagami. Shake them out."

"I'll shake something out all right." He took a threatening step forward. Kyo grinned the biggest shit-eating grin he ever saw. Iori didn't think – he just lunged.

Crackers got crushed, destroyed, ground into fine rice dust as he tackled the other man head-on, sprawling both of them past the Playstation 2 (another miracle when he looked back) and almost choked the fucking daylights out of him. Then Kyo's fist rattled his skull, forcing him to drop his end of the fight and nurse the biggest headache of his life. Cracker bits were all over his shirt, smearing the dark purple and he felt the broken edges sharp against his back.

Kyo looked no better, massaging his throat. There was also cracker residue over his shirt, in his hair, and it dusted his hands. Well, _he_ was the one who started throwing crackers at him, the moron. His rival got up, harrumphed a few times in his throat, gave him a pointed look – Iori glared right back despite the hammers pounding in his head – and left.

Yeah, that was gonna go great with the Kusanagi family.

Iori expected to be forcibly evicted from the premises or char-broiled. First, he gave Kyo a nice set of bruises from the controller and now he almost killed the guy because they were throwing crackers at each other.

What a moron he was, too.

When the _shoji_ screen opened, the sunlight coming in hurt his head even more; Iori looked away. Then two things were tossed in his direction – no crackers – and he snatched them in midair. One was a bottle of aspirin. The other was a damp face towel, still warm.

Kyo had the towel wrapped around his throat. The other man gave him a glance, sat down, picked up the abandoned controller and continued playing.

The hell?

Not wanting to sit on the side while the game continued, he picked himself up and resumed his usual spot on the other end of the table. Rice cracker bits were scattered everywhere. Pieces lay around the wiring, near the console. Well damn. It _was_ a fight. Wiping his face clean, shaking the inside of his shirt free of as many pieces as possible, Iori opened the aspirin container and downed the required number dry.

He left the damp towel on the table.

Turned to look at Kyo. "What. The. Hell. Was. That. For?"

"Hmmm?"

"Kusanagi, only kids and brats have food fights. What did you –"

"You got irritated. Wanted to see what'll happen."

"The fuck?" He pointed straight at Kyo's throat, at the place where the towel failed to hide his second day's handiwork. The bruises on his rival's face were still dark. The man was a walking art masterpiece, courtesy of one Iori Yagami. Was the guy a fucking masochist to goad him? "You like that? You really want me to kill you?"

"No, and you won't. But at least you're not my lit teacher anymore."

"You didn't get half the references."

"Yagami, I'm playing a game here. Not in class. Take that somewhere else."

"You didn't get why Princess Kaguya being a space alien was ridiculous."

"You kept saying that one lady was evil."

"Was right, wasn't I?" Iori said, not holding back his arrogance. "Bitch was evil. You got distracted by the tits, so you didn't notice. Oh, you sucked on the island."

"Did not and her tits weren't that –"

"So you were looking."

 _"Yagami…"_

"Watching you race that curse paper was a kick in the nuts, Kyo. Had to finish it for you, since you still can't fucking dodge traps. Or make vines. Hell –"

"Hell's right. Enjoy it there, Yagami?"

"Fuck off."

"You screamed like a little girl in the cursed ship."

"No, that was you." He made a grab at the controller but his head still pounded and Kyo swung it away so fast from him that Iori saw a blur of black. "I was lopping heads off _kokeshi_ dolls and having a great time. You were the one that almost blew out my eardrums when the Sadako spider showed up on the screen."

"Did not."

"Or when the big seaweed hand came crashing down. That _was_ you, Kyo. Don't deny it."

Again, Kyo pouted.

He must be going mad. It was actually funny now to him. "There was a crescent moon skill, too."

"Yeah, I saw. You used it a lot. Happy now?"

"Very."

"That foppish guy, though…"

"Don't like him."

"Crimson?"

"One's enough." Iori squinted at the screen, waiting for the aspirin to do its work. "So we're up north now? Kyo, pull up the map."

When the map showed itself, he leaned closer and observed. It was Hokkaido. Just, not Hokkaido. Fictional game northern lands. Got it.

"I think we're covered most of Japan."

"We did. Kyo, I think the game's almost done. This is the last point on the map."

"How long did we…man. Yagami, it's past six already."

"So if you weren't throwing crackers at me like a jackass –"

"Oh, shove it. You wanna stay over tonight? Get this done?"

"I'm not gonna be burned alive if I do, right? Your clan's a bit twitchy-fingered when it comes to me."

"I'll keep you company. If anyone's burning you, it'll be me."

"That's really comforting, Kyo. Quite a way with words you have."

"Oh, shut up. You'll have to piss me off first. Just stop it with the lit lecture and we're good."

"Controller, Kyo. My turn."

His rival handed him the controller. Iori took his damp towel, now cool, and wiped it down. After that stupid food fight, he didn't want all that gunk on the buttons or in the directional pad. Not if he was playing.

"Food?"

He was hungry. Easing himself against the table, he made Amaterasu save at one of the mirrors. If they were in the endgame, shit could only go down from here. Being overconfident could kill their game and they were so close. The land was rather pretty with the drawn and painted snowy landscapes. Funny that he was playing it – snow meant fire and they had enough fire skills now to melt everything. If anything, this was more Kyo's game.

Nah. He was playing.

"Yeah. You know my likes, Kyo. Like I know yours. I'll wander around a bit. We'll start when you come back."

"Got it. Let's finish this tonight, Yagami."

"Don't hold your breath. This may take longer than it looks."

* * *

Dinner arrived with Kyo bringing in grilled meat, fish with miso, soup, and two cans of beer. Iori dug into the food and then began to eat in between playing. Kyo watched as he navigated the barren lands – snow falling thick everywhere – and when Iori ran into his first enemy there, both he and Kyo barked out laughing.

"Ha! Get him, Yagami."

"Easy enough," he said, smirking. The demon was snow – looked like a small hut – and where there was snow, it must meet fire. Iori threw Amaterasu into that battle, executing the most applicable fire skill and the thing melted. The wolf sun goddess was already rolling in _yen_ and fruits and food but every little bit counted, so Iori placidly watched as the victory screen gave him the rewards.

"You know…I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"I've never seen you play a game in your life. How are you so –"

"Good at it? I do other stuff besides just fight, Kyo. That bass guitar you often see? I'm not just carrying it around for show."

"So music. Video games. The lit?"

"Grew up on it. Got the full classical education. Know it like the back of my hand."

"Which is why you sound like my lit teacher."

"Which is why I'm gonna show you what poetry's all about. The invite's still on, Kyo. Don't forget it."

"How can I?" his rival said, tone sour. "You're gonna be the teacher from hell, aren't you?"

Iori didn't immediately reply, too focused on changing the people living in the northern lands into animals and then back into humans. He had a habit of feeding all the animals, too. Kyo had made fun of him for that; Iori refrained from mentioning he liked cats. He didn't need to give Kyo anymore ammunition to shoot him with. That was before the food fight, too.

"It's not boring once you get it, Kyo. There's a charm to it."

"What kind of poetry are you talking about?"

"Linked verses." He was now in front of the young and impetuous warrior of the northern tribe. The guy reminded him of Susanoo but different. Not lazy, not a dreamer, but too strong, too sure. People like that tended to break. Iori felt this guy had a rude awakening coming. "I write a set of verses. Then you use my previous lines, or depending on which version, you use the last character of my poem and start yours."

"Huh."

"It's not boring, Kyo."

"How long do these verses go on for?"

The northern lands were cursed. That was no surprise. All the lands they've crossed had been – this one was no different. "Ten if you want to go short. Fifty if you're more ambitious. The best are done in a group. Those go up to a hundred."

"A hundred?"

"We'll start with fifty."

"Yagami, that's too much. I'm not bookish like you."

"Do I look bookish, Kyo?" He turned away from the television for a moment, staring at his rival. "You've seen me fight, Kyo. Do I look like that type to you?"

"Man, I don't know what to think."

"Then don't." The plot was advancing. The young warrior – definitely based on the Ainu – was going to fight his battle. Iori knew it was a bad idea. "Don't think. Just follow."

"Geez."

"I'll start with one. When this is for real, you need to write it." As he took Amaterasu along for the ride, knowing things were going to turn for the worst, Iori composed the first set of verses in his head. He also reached over and drank some beer to wet his throat. "Night descends upon green hills/Birds fly across still waters/See where the cherry blossoms fall/The lake reflects the moon."

"The moon. Yeah, wouldn't have seen that coming."

"Sarcasm aside, Kyo, what's next?"

"How should I know? You're the one going on about it."

In between dodging curse papers and trying to follow the relevant plot points (were his enemies two mechanical birds?), Iori prepared himself for a boss battle and for patience in teaching Kyo the rudiments of linked verses. "If I wanted to go easy on you, you'd take the last two verses and make your own verses after to close."

"Just that? That's it?"

"You still need to come up with it, Kyo. Ain't doing that for you. "

"Damn."

Amaterasu sidestepped an incoming attack. The birds were very fast. Very very fast and he had something to counter it. He pulled the scroll out and drew a few lines to bring the countermove into the fight. Kyo watched him play but the other man was scowling. Just what he needed to deal with right now. A few power slashes to return offensive moves back to his enemies and he saw one of the birds drop. Damage time.

"Since you're a jerk, Yagami…"

"The last character, then, since you're not making this easy. Moon. Use it, Kyo. Impress me."

"Why should I?"

"Why shouldn't you? Start thinking, Kyo."

While he played, defeating the two bosses and the plot rolled into more dire circumstances – was that Shiranui and Nagi? – Kyo started mumbling under his breath. From what he heard, Kyo had difficulty making an elegant turn of phrase. Poor bastard probably couldn't even read the old poets. No wonder he had trouble.

"Out loud, Kyo. It's easier that way."

"Easy for you to say."

"Do it all the time."

"Like the back of your hand." From the corner of his peripheral vision, Iori saw Kyo shake his head, frustration mounting. "This is hard."

"Of course it is. Takes practice. Takes effort. You don't like those, do you?"

"You consider this fun? This sucks, Yagami. It's boring."

"Giving up already? Want me to kick your ass, Kyo? I'll do it."

"Why? 'Cause I can't meet your high and mighty standards?"

"Moon. One character, Kyo. Make a sentence. Give me something." He had his attention half on the events in the game and half on his rival who sat there, sullen. "It doesn't have to be nice. The old poets used to be vulgar."

"So the moon can fuck off, right?"

"Not like that. You know better." Iori paused the game. Turned and fixed Kyo with an iron stare. "Getting to the point of no return. Controller's yours if you want, but give me a verse first."

"You're making demands now, Yagami?"

"Your teachers did you no favors letting you sleep in class."

"Hell does it matter to you anyway?"

"Bad poetry makes my ears bleed. Come on, Kyo. Moon. _One_ verse. You write poetry, as godawful as it must be. You're not changing the goddamn world. Give me something!"

He read his rival's next action even as Kyo lunged for the controller in his hand. Grabbing his beer, Iori moved quick or else he, the floor, the table, the controller, and the wall would smell like malted grain. "One verse! Goddammit, Kyo!" He glared at the brunet, whose scowl deepened. He'd just barely missed the remains of his dinner painting his shirt. If he was going to be the teacher from hell, Kyo seemed determined to be the student of fuck-all-and-fuck-you.

That poetry game was going to test his patience.

He could already feel it.

"Moon. One. Goddamn. Verse. You know how to join words together, don't you?"

"Controller, Yagami."

"See? Doing it already. Moon, Kyo."

"Moon up your ass, and give me the controller!"

 _"Kyo!"_ Iori snapped, patience gone and temper rising. He was just a bit taller than Kyo Kusanagi and he made it count. Standing firm, he glowered at the other man with as much intensity as he could muster. If he didn't quell this, the game wasn't getting done and something else was going to break. Possibly even the Playstation this time. Hell no with that. "You throw crackers. Fine. Almost killed you. You got this in the face. Are you really so stupid that you'll fight me because you can't make one verse?"

"Moon in the fucking depths of your black soul, Yagami."

"Poetic. Do better next time, Kusanagi. Here's your controller."

Kyo snatched it out of his hand, stomping back to his usual sitting spot in a huff. If this was what he was like now – notorious for not graduating – Iori could only imagine why his teachers let him sleep. He wouldn't like dealing with it, either. If he'd tried that with his tutors, there'd be hell to pay. He could still recall the sting of the bamboo rod against his hands.

"So? What are you going to do? Continue where I left off, or do something else?"

Kyo didn't reply.

So he wanted to be that way. Iori shrugged, cleaned his spot as best he could, stretched out his legs, sipped his beer, and watched. Kyo playing meant sidequests and Iori knew it was already close to nine. Any later and he'll fall asleep right here. If Kyo didn't advance the plot, that was fine. On the other hand, if he woke up to find his rival had beaten the game without him, he was going to be pissed. The Playstation 2 was going to be toast and the game disc with it. Kyo, too, possibly. That's if he didn't burn the whole damn place down.

His only comfort was that Kyo disliked reading his games.

He liked to fight and take on harder enemies. Like those Devil Gates.

Iori yawned. Someone was gonna get his ass kicked.

Fortunately, he'd saved beforehand.

Ass-kicking ensued and Amaterasu croaked with all paws up in the air. This happened over and over and over again until Iori felt himself drifting off to Kyo's frustrated rants at the screen. The guy needed to use the papers that granted wards. Or use the gold dust on his weapons. Anything to break the streak of complete failure he was hearing on repeat. Then again…

After that childish display regarding the poetry, Iori couldn't care less.

Served Kyo right. Let him lose.

Then the controller hit _him_ in the face. Woke him the fuck up.

"What the hell was that for?"

"It hit you? Your turn. I keep losing."

 _Goddammit, Kyo._ He wasn't within close range when the controller was flung at him, so he doubted his bruises were bad. His face stung, though, so marks had been left. Damn. If there was anything he and Kyo were good at, it was returning like for like, damage for damage. The wiring of the controller hung about him like a thin black snake. He needed to plug it back into the console and hope Kyo didn't do anything inane.

Throw crackers or some shit like that.

"We're finishing this," he growled, snapping the controller back into its port. "Finishing it and you're gonna watch and…get that goddamn smirk off your face."

"Yagami, your face matches mine now."

He snarled, refusing to rise to Kyo's game of being an irritating nuisance. It was always the last stretch that made people stir-crazy and he guessed Kyo had hit that limit. The poetry probably jarred some part of his brain loose as well. That or he really did suck at it. How hard was it to come up with one verse? Iori could do it in his sleep. Wrote song lyrics in his head while on the subway. It wasn't difficult.

Then again, this was _Kyo_ he was talking about.

The first thing he noticed upon resuming the game and steering it back to the plot away from killer Devil Gates and random demons was the ship. The big fucking ship that wasn't ancient by any means. Entering it brought him back in contact with the blond pretty fop, which annoyed him plenty. A few sob stories here and there from the previous inhabitants and he was ready to move on.

Right into a gauntlet of repeated boss fights.

Bring it.

Of course, the first motherfucker he fought was Orochi. Three times and the sonovabitch still refused to die. Iori hoped to all hell this was the last time; otherwise, it was too close to the reality of his own life. It wasn't any harder than before – easier this time because he had more skills – and when the serpent died its final death, Iori smugly proclaimed a "Ha!" at the screen. Moved on to the next boss and then the next. At one point, he saw Kyo gesturing in his direction, rolled his eyes, and tossed the controller at him.

That boss dropped, too. Good. He was paying attention.

It was when they hit the final boss that they both got baffled.

"Fuck is that thing?"

"Don't know. Doesn't exist in the stories."

"Darkness. To my sun. I'm gonna stomp its ass."

"You may need to wait. I think the wolf's getting beat first."

"You've got to be shitting me."

"Afraid not. Story. Ain't good if you always win."

"You telling me something, Yagami?"

Iori finished his beer, felt the side of his face smarting (Kyo's handiwork), and crossed his arms while staring at his rival. "Game's still on. Might want to play before you lose."

"Wha…oh shit!"

He stretched out his legs. They were almost done. Now only if Kyo didn't die. How could he? They got all the major weapons – he still liked his _magatama_ beads – and were loaded to the nines with healing items and power-ups. There was no way they could lose.

Kyo was showing off some impressive dodging and striking.

Yeah, they got this.

Considering the mythology, Iori knew they had to win plot-wise. If Amaterasu lost, they wouldn't be here, would they? So when the plot did its evil turn and made it seem all hope was lost – for once it wasn't because Kyo couldn't play – Iori wasn't surprised when it flipped again in their favor. He did like how all the time he spent talking to people, feeding animals, and generally being a nice guy (ha!) paid off.

"Oh, that's cool," Kyo said next to him, gazing raptly at the screen.

"Little bugger was good for something."

"Just needed to stop hopping around. Hey, look at her!"

"Yeah. Kick his ass, Kyo. Let's end this."

"Hell yeah."

It was a curbstomp battle to last the ages. There was nothing the boss could do against them, against Amaterasu Omikami, against all the hours they spent accumulating the know-how of the game. It wasn't bad for a game that they somewhat zipped through – they didn't do a lot of the sidequests and when Kyo played, they didn't do a lot of reading – and in the end, Kyo Kusanagi delivered the ultimate blow.

The game was done, minus the ending.

Iori took out his phone and looked at the time. About midnight. While he could try getting home, most of the public transportation were likely done for the day (last trains had been caught hours before) and he was tired. The streets could be safe but even he wasn't stupid enough to try his luck. Just because he could fight, maim, and kill didn't mean he liked it. Nor was he dumb enough to put himself in that position.

"Hey, Yagami. Is that a spaceship?"

"Huh?" He put his phone down, saw the closing events playing out on the television, and coughed. "It is. Hell, they really like that space alien plot."

"Spaceships in ancient Japan. You know –"

"Been done. Lots of times."

"Damn. Thought I had something."

"Don't you always?" he said, somewhat snide. "That's not a bad closing song."

"Yeah. Kinda nice."

Well, now that they had resolved their differences between the controller throwing, rice cracker war, poetry meltdown, and general asshole behavior they always had towards each other, Iori broached the subject he'd been considering. "Kyo, it's after midnight. Trains are done. I'm not sleeping in a capsule hotel. Not a salaryman. You mind?"

"Told you we have futons, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. Will you need to burn it afterwards or exorcise it?"

"You're funny, Yagami – you know that?"

"Guess that's a 'yes', right?"

"Yeah. Grab yourself a futon. We have pillows and blankets, too."

"You've thought of everything. Guess this is it, Kyo, before you get that invite in the mail."

His rival groaned, got up, and grabbed his beer can. "Don't remind me. I'm getting some shuteye too, Yagami. My bed's calling me."

"The door locks?"

"Yeah. I'll take care of that. No one's roasting you in your sleep."

"Good."

* * *

Kyo woke him up early the following morning – Iori was grouchy – explaining that if he didn't leave now, he'd be helping with cleaning up the place. Between the spilled food and the crushed cracker bits still covering the floor, he got Kyo's hint fast. Fortunately, he traveled light and was ready to leave in no time. Kyo looked tired – playing a game late could do that – with dark shadows under his eyes. He probably looked the same. Hell, he couldn't stop yawning.

"Next time, Yagami…"

"I'll pick a game more your grade level."

"Hey!"

"You learned something, didn't you?"

"That Yagami is a hardass about poetry and a jerk?"

"You were the one throwing crackers."

"You're still going on about that?"

"Screams like a girl, too."

It was a good thing Kyo was exhausted, because taunting him like this probably wasn't the smartest thing to be doing at eight o' clock in the morning. Iori wasn't up for fighting, either. He was going to sleep on the subway.

"Whatever. Are you going to tell me to die next?"

"That can wait. Poetry, first."

"Goddamn it."

"Look out for the invite, Kyo. You'll know it. Make sure your parents don't torch it."

"Fuck you."

"You too, Kyo. See ya later, bastard."

* * *

 **Notes** : So there are a few references to some Japanese personas, literature, and pop culture in this. Before I list them, just going to mention that per my head-canon on Iori, I think he grew up on his family's ancient estate up until his early teens and got a very thorough education with tutors like how the privileged sons of old families used to. As a result, he is very sharp in that aspect and really loves and knows his classical Japanese literature and mythology. While this idea is also shared in my long fic "Yagami's Little Girl", the two Ioris are not the same – they just share the same idea.

So, onto the references:

* Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro are two of Japan's most well-known rivals about the time of the Tokugawa shogunate. Musashi is known as Japan's sword saint and was notorious for showing up to scheduled duels late as a tactic for throwing his opponents off. Kojiro is known for his sword technique "Swallow Slash" but met his end on Ganryu Island from Musashi killing him with an oar that he fashioned into a sword while on route to the duel.

* The Tale of the Heike: One of Japan's most well-known stories about the battles between the Taira and the Minamoto clans. It is a given that my take on Iori would've learned this from his tutors along with other works like the _Kojiki_.

* Sadako is from the Japanese horror film, "Ringu". One of the creepier Japanese pop culture references, considering she is based on a Japanese female spirit with the long black hair, pale complexion, and overall eeriness.

* Ainu: Japan's aboriginals.


End file.
